


A Silly Gift for a Silly Man

by MaidenM



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ferdinand's cursed birthday, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, mild violence, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:13:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24097135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaidenM/pseuds/MaidenM
Summary: On the Anniversary of the end of the war, and also Ferdinand's birthday, Hubert has a gift to give his fellow Minister. If he can work up the courage to do so, that is.
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 16
Kudos: 182





	A Silly Gift for a Silly Man

**Author's Note:**

> So I got the idea for this at 3 am and spent three full hours writing it in one sitting. It is super indulgent but I hope you'll enjoy!

Strictly speaking, the walk to Ferdinand's office shouldn't be so long.

That's what Hubert thought at least, and logically he knew it couldn't have gotten longer since the last time he made the short journey, but with the weight of the small package in his hand it somehow seemed like an endless path stretched before him.

Nervously, he fidgeted with the hastily wrapped gift. Normally he'd be meticulous, making sure the object lay securely in a nice box and the box itself wrapped carefully but... due to the nature of the gift he couldn't bear to look at the damned thing too long, much less present it as he ought.

Hubert knew very well he wasn't the most sentimental person. This little object held possibly more sentimentality than anything he had carried in his life.

Around him the palace was bustling with activity. Today wasn't just Ferdinand's birthday after all, it was the first anniversary of the Unification of Fódlan. A year ago, on this day, his lady had landed the finishing blow on the duplicitous Archbishop whose name ought to be forgotten by history.

His fingers tightened around the gift momentarily before he composed himself. Maybe the stress of the big day was getting to him. Dodging servants and guards who scurried to prepare the palace for tonight's festivities, Hubert hoped he'd make it to Ferdinand's office in time before the Prime Minister was supposed to head down to the plaza outside the Opera to hold his speech and kick off the celebrations for today. Eventually he made it to Ferdinand's office doors.

"Come in," came Ferdinand's muffled voice just moments after a quick knock. Stepping inside, Hubert took a deep breath, ready to just get this over with so he could either go back to his duties or scream into a pillow about how stupid he felt with such a silly little--

The words died in his throat as he took in the room. Was he in the right place? Ferdinand was there, so he should be, but the redhead looked quite sheepish surrounded by colourful bouquets and a large number of almost more colourful boxes.

Hubert had to blink. It was... a lot.

"Apparently I am popular," Ferdinand chuckled feebly after Hubert had stood silent for a few to many moments. He gave a half-hearted wave around the room. "They have been bringing in gifts all morning. Some were even delivered to my living quarters and I am starting to worry there are things waiting for me at the Aegir manor as well..."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Hubert mumbled – mumbled! He hadn't mumbled since he was a boy, but Ferdinand had a tendency to make him feel like a child, eager to pull pigtails and fuming at strange and unfamiliar emotions – "your efforts to restore Hrym has not gone unnoticed by the people." _And you could charm the skin of a snake, believe me_ , he added to himself. Suddenly his silly gift in its shoddy wrapping seemed so much more inadequate. Ferdinand just made a non-commital noise and started...

Was Ferdinand fidgeting?

"You don't seem too happy, are there less gifts than you had hoped?" Hubert teased, or at least he hoped it came out as his usual banter and not the uncertain lilt he feared might've slipped through. Ferdinand loved attention, that was no secret. The only thing he loved more was validation and what could be more validating than the love of his people?

"Ah, no, not at all. I am, of course, pleased!" Ferdinand seemed to snap back into his usual mannerism as soon as the question had reached his ears. Hubert raised a thin eyebrow at him. "I... I am a little nervous, that is all. It is a big day, my birthday notwithstanding," Ferdinand explained, a slight crease between his brows.

Hubert nodded. He could pry later, or better yet make the day smoother for everyone to take some load off both Ferdinand and Edelgard's shoulders. Another check-in with the guards before the festivities, maybe a quick errand to the kitchens to see if some of those pastries Ferdinand likes can be put to the side after--

"Is that for me?" Ferdinand's curious tenor interrupted him in his thoughts, as it so often did these days. Suddenly the weight of his little gift came back full force.

"Ah, well this is--" Hubert hesitated. A quick glance around the office and he counted over a dozen presents and he wasn't sure how many flowers. They were all professionally wrapped, many feet of silk ribbons had been sacrificed for these offerings to Adrestia's beloved Prime Minister. Here and there a card peeked out between flowers and paper, no doubt filled with both confessions of admiration and declarations of love.

Hubert hadn't written a card.

"... No, this is just something for my office," he finished lamely. "I just came by to say 'happy birthday' and wish you good luck with your speech."

Ferdinand gave a small huff and a smaller smile. Was he amused? Did he find Hubert's fumbling entertaining? _Fine._ _Let him laugh_ , a small part of Hubert thought, _it suits him so much better than that despondent uncertainty._

"Thank you, Hubert. I'm sure everything will go fine!" A greater, more confident smile broke out and Hubert couldn't help but to smile back.

***

The square was packed full with people. Vendors had set up shop wherever they could, musicians played in the street and behind the stage that had been set up for the Prime Minister's speech Hubert was reminded of why he loved working in the shadows. He had been adamant that he'd oversee the security for the opening ceremony himself, and to be frank he had objected to the location quite strongly. It would have been better to hold the damn thing in front of the palace, where his security could be tighter and more controlled but Ferdinand had argued that the opera house was Enbarr's cultural heart and that holding his speech there would remind the citizens what they had fought to protect and preserve, a part of the past that was worth holding on to even as the flames of war had razed the world as they knew it.

Hubert both hated and admired how convincing Ferdinand had been as he argued.

A few feet away, Ferdinand paced.

The redhead seemed restless, despite his proven skill as an orator. He breathed shallowly, spoke quietly to himself as he went over his speech and shuffled papers in his hands.

"Calm down, Ferdinand, you've done this hundreds of times and you will do it thousands more," Hubert spoke, barely getting a reaction from the redhead. A slight glance in his direction was the only sign that he had even been heard.

Hubert frowned. Ferdinand wasn't acting like he usually did and though he would never admit to it, even under great duress, Hubert had come to rely on Ferdinand's optimistic spirit. The people had too, which was why Ferdinand had been asked to hold the ceremony instead of Edelgard. His lady was Ferdinand's better in almost everything, but even she had admitted that Ferdinand had been invaluable as a diplomat between her and the people after the war. People who could never understand what his lady had been through, what sacrifices she had made, had cried demands and accusations both and Ferdinand had taken the role of her protector in a way Hubert knew he could never have done himself. Where Hubert would have killed, threatened and silenced Ferdinand made the people feel heard, safe and hopeful.

He hated to think it but Edelgard's reign might have been short-lived without her Prime Minister.

"Ferdinand," he called as he stepped forward, grasping the redhead's arm firmly to break him out of whatever trance he had put himself in. "You will do just fine. Get up there and hold your speech, let me worry about everything else."

Ferdinand seemed to grow still for several seconds. Hubert could feel the heat from his skin through several layers of clothing under his hand. Idly his thumb made mindless, soothing circles against Ferdinand's arm, his fingers squeezing lightly without letting go.

"You are right, Hubert," Ferdinand breathed at last, "I never have anything to worry about with you here, do I?"

Ferdinand smiled a warm smile before steeling himself and moving towards the stage, out of Hubert's grasp. Hubert allowed himself just a moment to miss his presence.

***

"My fellow Adrestians!"

Hubert didn't even hear the second line from the cheers of the crowd. And as much as he'd like to listen to Ferdinand's speech, to let himself admire the man while he was sure the redhead wouldn't notice, this was when his work began. He had sent agents to every rooftop nearby looking for archers and mages, and had several people in the crowd looking for suspicious activity. On top of this he had to keep an eye out for reports from the palace, in case his lady needed him.

But for now, he scanned the crowd.

As Ferdinand's voice droned on about something that sounded like triumph over corruption and a bright new future for the people, Hubert searched every face he could see for the shadows of scorn and dissent, for threats to this very future. He knew full well there were people who had no love for the new empire, people who clung to old ways or grudges. He had struggled to keep his lady free from dirty blood, untainted by unsavory deeds but as the past year had made clear a lot of people didn't think he had succeeded.

No matter. They couldn't understand.

With half an ear he allowed himself to listen to Ferdinand's bold tenor. To listen with pride as he listed his lady's accomplishments, with joy as he spoke of the future they were building, and – very silently and hidden – with affection just from Ferdinand's voice as it sang out over the plaza.

_You impossible man,_ he though. _Noblest of nobles, born with a silver spoon in your mouth yet you have made it your life's mission to see everyone fed and cared for. Had I known your strength, your conviction sooner maybe we could have been amicable earlier. Maybe I could have reached the courage to give silly gifts just to see you--_

Hubert's thoughts died as he spotted a small group of men moving with intent through the crowd. A quick glance confirmed his agents had spotted them as well and silently he moved towards them in tandem.

_Pathetic,_ he scoffed to himself as he spied a dagger being drawn by one of the men. _You are not even close to your target. Do you even know you have been spotted?_ The crowd grew less dense around the small group as even civilians took note of the threatening aura and bared blades, allowing the group to move faster towards the stage. _Pitiful,_ he laughed. One of his agents reached the group at the same time he did, and together they took town two of them within moments. The crowd gasped and a few screams alerted more people of the commotion as two more of his agents reached them.

"Death to the Empire!" one man screamed as he lunged for Hubert, who sidestepped the attack with ease. Grabbing the man's arm, he twisted it until he heard a creak and a howl as his attacker's dagger fell to the ground unsullied. With a few quick maneuvers the whole group had been incapacitated.

_Amateurs! If it had been me I wouldn't have revealed my weapon until the moment I reached my target!_ Hubert allowed himself to gloat. _I wouldn't have moved in a group unless I was part of..._

A chill came over him as realization hit him. Frantically he looked up towards the stage just in time to watch an arrow pierce Ferdinand's chest.

_A diversion. I would've set up a diversion._

***

Even a few days later looking over the report did nothing but sour his mood. The dissenters in the crowd had drawn the attention of his agents, allowing a much more seasoned assassin to neutralize and replace one of Hubert's own lookouts on a rooftop nearby. They hadn't caught that one. The ones they captured weren't much help either. Former members of the Kingdom. Commoners. Each one with their own sob story about why they hated the Empire.

For a moment Hubert let himself be petty and think of them as uneducated swine. Couldn't they understand the Empire was thinking of them? Of their future?

Bah.

He'd get to the bottom of who they were working with later. As of now he couldn't exclude the possibility that it was the doing of their former "allies". That would explain the assassin's disappearing act.

A knock on the door made him look up from his desk. "Enter," A clerk came in and gave a slight bow.

"Doctor Linhardt asked me to tell you Minister Aegir is awake."

Best words he'd heard in days.

Again, he found himself traversing strangely long corridors. As a last minute decision, the shoddy package was once more in his hand. It felt almost as heavy this time as well.

The sight that greeted him in the infirmary was one he had, for a few moments at least, feared he'd never see again.

Ferdinand looked well, all things considered. The arrow that had struck him had pierced his light armor Hubert insisted he'd wear under his uniform, but the wound itself hadn't been terrible. The worst had been the poison that the arrow had been laced with, and both Hubert and Linhardt had worked frantically to keep him alive as Hubert's agents found an antidote. The fever and chills had ravaged Ferdinand's body for three days, during which he was barely lucid during the few times he was awake. But now, he sat up in his bed, a slight tint back upon his cheeks and his white pajamas hanging loosely over his frame exposing his collarbone in a near tantalizing way.

Hubert didn't realize he was staring until Ferdinand greeted him properly.

"Hello Hubert," he said softly, which Hubert took as an invitation to come in. "I hope I did not cause too much trouble with my absence," Ferdinand tried to joke, but his face made a grimace as he said it.

"Well, I won't say things have been calm," Hubert settled for. Ferdinand didn't need to know too much stressful information right now. "Your absence was... noted." No need to mention how Dorothea and Bernadetta cried or how Edelgard didn't smile during the celebrations that couldn't be cancelled.

"Good. Good..." A heavy sigh escaped Ferdinand's lips. "Linhardt told me of your quick work, I am told I would not have survived without you. Thank you, my friend."

"No need to thank me," Hubert muttered, ignoring how the word _friend_ both soothed and stung _._ "I suppose this makes it the worst birthday of your life?" he tried to joke.

Ferdinand sat quietly for a moment. Eyes downcast, another sigh broke free heavier than before.

"I hate my birthday."

A silence hung over the two. It took a moment for Hubert to process what he had just been told.

"You hate your birthday?" he asked, hesitantly. Now that he thought about it, Ferdinand had never made a big deal about the occasion. Never asked for gifts or parties. Never brought attention to it.

"I used to think my birthday is cursed. Everytime it is celebrated something bad happens. It is only when I ignore it that I seem to be free from trouble. I thought... I thought I could get past it this year because of the celebrations but when the gifts arrived..."

Ferdinand grew quiet. His hands started to fidget with the sleeve of his shirt.

"I am sorry. You must think I sound silly," he muttered. _Silly_ , Hubert though tracing the corners of his poorly wrapped gift.

"We won the mock battle with the professor on your birthday," Hubert said eventually, "and we won the war on your birthday too."

"No one knew me well enough to even want to congratulate me during the mock battle, and no one had time for frivolous things like that during the end of the war. For all I know we won because no one celebrated it."

Silence resumed. Comfort had never been Hubert's forte.

"Then maybe we should celebrate at another time. Like... like now," he tried, holding out the small package. "Happy birthday, Ferdinand."

Ferdinand stared, first at the package and then at Hubert.

"Wasn't that for your..?"

"Just open it," Hubert hissed, a blush threatening to take over his face. Carefully, Ferdinand took the package and started to unwrap the unassuming brown paper.

"It is... a mug? A coffee mug?" Ferdinand asked as the paper fell from his hand. Hubert was definitely blushing now. In Ferdinand's calloused hands lay a misshapen, not particularly pretty mug-shaped object. Hubert coughed.

"Remember how Lady Edelgard has been... encouraging me to have... hobbies?" he tried, making Ferdinand laugh.

"'Encouraging'. That is one way of putting it."

"Yes, yes, well... Bernadetta has been showing me a few... arts and crafts projects and..." he gestured to the possibly-a-mug and hoped he didn't have to speak further.

"You mean..." Ferdinand looked up, and _oh_ Hubert was not ready for that genuine look of surprise on his face. "You made this?"

"Yes," Hubert clipped, feeling somewhere between soaring and wanting the ground to swallow him.

" _You._ You made this?" Ferdinand held up the mug, as if unsure if it was indeed to object up for discussion.

"Yes." No, the ground swallowing was definitely closer.

"... you made this for me?" Ferdinand spoke so softly Hubert barely heard him over the blood pumping in his ears.

_Well,_ Hubert though, _might as well get it over with._

"Turn it over," he muttered, not quite being brave enough to meet Ferdinand's gaze.

Ferdinand, silently gaping, turned his attention to the mug and gently turned it over in his hands. On the other side of the mug, in handwriting that would have been neat had the writer been used to the medium, a playful text could be found.

**Adrestia's #1 Minister**

There was a pregnant pause. It was rudely interrupted by a loud snort.

Laughter bubbled up from Ferdinand's chest, clear and free like the chime of a bell. A lovely blush graced his cheeks as he held the misshapen mug to his chest like a child hugging a beloved doll.

It was a sight Hubert would be certain to sear into his memory as long as he lived. In that moment he swore that every year from now he would give Ferdinand a gift silly enough to make him laugh.


End file.
